Central Georgia Sports ReportMay 14, 2026Comment

Thursday's Report: GIAA playoffs, Georgia College, Middle Georgia State, GMC JC, Houston County, Russell Henley; Braves, Falcons, UGA/Tech BSB; NBA playoffs, MLB, NHL, golf, WNBA, NFL, World Cup

Central Georgia Sports ReportMay 14, 2026Comment

📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D
High Schools

(Teams: Please post first and last names, and names are preferred over social media handles (they know who they are, most people don’t) and post team names, not mascots)

⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾

GIAA Playoffs

FPD 11, Strong Rock 0; Strong Rock 8, FPD 5

Strong Rock responded in an epic way to the first-game beatdown by rallying with 5 runs in two late innings to win the second game and stun FPD in breaking the hosts 27-game winning streak, dating back to Feb. 24’s 12-9 loss to GHSA Class 5A Veterans. The (30-2) Vikings needed only 4.5 innings in the opener, finishing it with 5 in the fourth. Major Simmons, Wyatt Waters, and Harrison Keenan each had 2 hits for FPD, Grant Martin driving in 3 runs to support winning pitcher Conner Strandmark, who fanned 7 with no walks in 5 innings. FPD led 4-3 after 4 innings in the nightcap, but Strong Rock (15-18) went off for 2 in the fifth and 3 in the sixth to take control, outhitting the Vikings 13-6. Keon Johnson had 2 of FPD’s hits. Game 3 is Friday at 4:30 p.m. at FPD.

Valwood 5, Westfield 1; Valwood 10, Westfield 9

⚽ ⚽ ⚽ Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽

GIAA Playoffs

Girls

CFCA 2, Gatewood 0

FPD 6, Strong Rock 1

Westminster 3, John Milledge 1

Boys

Brookstone 2, Stratford 1

Tennis

Boys

GHSA Playoffs

Class A/Division II, state championship

Johnson County 3, Taylor County 0

Pro
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ MLB⚾ ⚾ ⚾

Atlanta 4, Chicago Cubs 1

📰C📰O📰V📰E📰R📰A📰G📰E📰

Honor Roll

A Georgia College valedictorian comes from women’s soccer

And men’s basketball times two

WTEN Academic All-District: Middle Georgia State duo

GCAA SB: GMC JC’s Kearson and Bunn

Honor Roll/Alumni Update

Houston County’s Burress racks up another national POTW honor

Around/About Central Georgia

Henley eyes a PGA Championship breakthrough

Of the four majors, Russell Henley has had good weekends in three of them more than once.

And then there’s the PGA Championship.

Henley has made eight cuts in 12 tries, and only three times has he finished in the top 30. And not since 2020.

He’ll look to add the PGA to his list of quality performances in big tournaments when he tees off Thursday.

In the five tournaments since tying for 37th in 2020 – his fourth-best outing – he has missed two cuts and finished tied for 71st and 60th to go with a tie for 23rd in 2024.

And in that five-tournament span, Henley is 25 over par covering 16 rounds.

Four times has he finished tied for 50th or worse.

He’s not necessarily on a roll right now, following a tied for third at the Masters with a tie for 25th at the RBC Heritage and a tie for 49th – his worst finish since Feb. 2024 at the AT&T Pebble Beach and a tie for 58th - at the Cadillac, all after missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open.

But Henley remains a contender, if not – as is often the case – somewhat under the radar.

From a Golf Digest preview:

“My outlook on Russell Henley has always been tortured. He possesses elite consistency and proven precision but often lacked the required aggressiveness in contention. I noticed a different Henley on Sunday at Augusta, when he was best in the field in ball-striking and routinely made aggressive putts that burned past the edges. He needed that T-3.

“The No. 9-ranked player in the world is always overlooked at majors, as they often feature 7,700-yard behemoth designs. Aronimink is a natural fit for Henley, who is exceptional at dialing in short iron approaches and does not shy away from difficult pins. With three consecutive top-10 finishes in majors, his resume is building toward a coronation at Aronimink.”

Around/About Georgia

Yastrzemski drives in tiebreaking run, Dubón and Baldwin homer as Braves beat Cubs

Braves reach 30 wins with another thrilling win that shows off myriad weapons

Cunningham's NFL upbringing evident in first draft as Falcons GM

Where will UGA-FSU be in 2028?

State college baseball/softball

Jackets can clinch back-to-back ACC regular season titles as early as Thursday

SEC champ Georgia preps for another top-5 showdown

A Worthy Read

A Philadelphia golf course seeks to reclaim its status as a force for opportunity and inclusion

NBA Playoffs

Harden scores 30 and Cavaliers rally past Pistons 117-113 in OT for 3-2 series lead